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Change Your Facebook Banner

Submitted by dfoley on Wed, 2011-04-20 17:15

We all know Facebook is awesome for keeping up with friends, sharing about your life, and even distributing ideas. One great new way to get people thinking is to take advantage of the new banner profile with the help of Intellectual Takeout. Here's what one of our banners looks like loaded up on a Facebook profile:

If you haven't changed your banner profile, than Facebook is likely auto-populating it with photos from your album(s) or from photos you've been tagged in. While those photos are sure nice, have you thought about changing it to promote freedom? If not, below are some ideas and instructions for you to consider.

Choose the image file you saved to your computer. Then you'll need to select "Scale, Crop & Rotate Image﻿." After that, click "Upload." Once you click "Upload" you'll need to "Squash", "Scale", and maneuver the image to fit into the boxes. Once it looks good, click "Post" and then follow the directions after that. Enjoy!

The Amagi

According to Liberty Fund, the Amagi (or Ama-gi) "is the earliest-known written appearance of the word 'freedom' (amagi), or 'liberty.' It is taken from a clay document written about 2300 B.C. in the Sumerian city-state of Lagash.﻿" Learn more here.

The Goal is Freedom

We do not seek to implement a rigid ideology, to create an empire, or force people to live a certain way. Rather, the goal is to live in a nation in which individual freedom, including economic freedom, is seen as a just end in and of itself. Indeed, what nation is greater than one that exists to protect and promote the individual liberties of its citizens?﻿

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Read the Constitution

We all know there are a variety of ways of looking at the Constitution. Whatever your position, the thing to keep in mind is that it is the document binding the country together, our social contract if you will. It's something worth reminding your friends and family to read.

Only Congress can Declare War

Thinking about Libya? Remember, only Congress can declare war. Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution reads, "The Congress shall have Power ... To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water﻿." In other words, the President can't make war without the consent of Congress.

The 10th Amendment

Tired of the federal government overstepping its bounds? Remind your friends and family that if the Constitution doesn't grant the United States government the power to do something, then that power is reserved for the states or the people. To learn more about the 10th Amendment, click here.

The 2nd Amendment

Do you cherish the right to defend yourself? If so, promote that Constitutional right with the banner below. To learn more about the 2nd Amendment, click here.

Dear TSA: Read the 4th Amendment

The 4th Amendment states: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.﻿" Does that sound like what's happening at the airports and train stations? Show how you feel about it with the banner below. To learn more about the TSA, click here.

The 4th Amendment

These days the government is always looking for an excuse to search your stuff. Do we really want to live in a country where cops and government officials can search your person or your property willy-nilly? No. Make sure your friends know their Constitutional rights by using the banner below.

Time to Balance the Budget

Worried about the federal government's runaway spending? We are, too. $14.3 trillion in debt is way too much. It's time to balance the budget and for the government to live within its means. To learn more about the national debt, click here.

Inflation

The rise in prices at the pump and grocery store isn't an act of God. The Federal Reserve, the folks in charge of our money, have made inflation a policy. Help your friends and family understand the root cause of what's going on with the banner below. To learn more about inflation, click here.

Fear the Boom and Bust

Are you thinking things with the economy just aren't right? You're not alone. The folks in charge believe that more credit and printing money will get things going again. While that might be true for a little while, history tells us the effort is unsustainable and ultimately ends in a bust.

Depression and Credit Expansion

Ludwig von Mises, the notable economist, once stated that, "Depression is the aftermath of credit expansion."﻿ Now that most Americans have experienced the Housing Bubble, driven mainly by credit expansion (easy money), many of us have learned the lesson. Unfortunately, the worst may still be ahead as the federal government props up the economy by borrowing and spending roughly 10% of the economy. If you want to learn more about deflation, click here.

Who is John Galt?

If you're looking around, thinking things are falling apart, and that government seems to be working against you, you might be right. In Ayn Rand's famous tome, Atlas Shrugged, "Who is John Galt?" becomes the line that sums up that sentiment. If you haven't read Atlas Shrugged, it's a classic and controversial novel that's well worth a read. Get it here.

Competition is Cooperation

Too often these days society seems intent on promoting the idea that competition is evil and that only by cooperating with each other can we build a just and prosperous future. The reality is that competition is a form of cooperation. Furthermore, competition has created tremendous prosperity, particularly compared to societies organized around forced cooperation. If you want to spread the message that competition is a good thing, then throw up the banner below. To learn more about competition, click here.

Don't Tread on Me

A classic in the liberty movement. Widely recognized as a symbol of the liberty movement, the motto says it all, "Don't Tread on Me." In other words, let the individual be free to pursue his or her ambitions. You can learn more about the history of the Gadsden Flag here.﻿

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Prices Communicate Information

Few individuals mind when prices go down. But when prices go up, depending on the good for sale, the public outcry can be enormous. More often than not, politicians will want to "fix" things with wage and price controls. History has repeatedly shown, even here in the U.S., that wage and price controls do not work. The ability to freely set prices is fundamental to a market economy. Prices communicate information and help individuals properly allocate scarce resources. To learn more about the role of prices, click here.

Wage and Price Controls Don't Work

We're on the Road to Serfdom

The famous economist F.A. Hayek wrote The Road to Serfdom in which he explored the competing ideas of classical liberalism, fascism, and socialism as well as compared individualism and collectivism. His basic message is that as individuals trade life in a free society for security through economic planning that they will inevitably become more and more impoverished and enslaved to the state (i.e., serfdom). If you haven't read the book, it is a must-read. You can purchase it here. Where are we now? We're on the road to serfdom.

Property Rights are a Cornerstone of Freedom

Who owns you? Do you own yourself or does the government own you? It's a fundamental philosophical question that reveals how central the concept of property rights is to individual freedom.

"Recently, Newsweek invited its Twitter followers to suggest topics to discuss here on this blog. We had a great response and a lot of ideas. But I noticed that one theme kept coming up: Is the world running out of oil?

This is a legitimate question, and one that those of us at ExxonMobil hear frequently; so, I’d like to address it.

"President Obama may be traveling the country this week to tout his energy policy, but the oil market's attention is focused on Saudi Arabia and its production plans.

The kingdom's oil minister insisted this week that oil markets are amply supplied and that it stands ready to boost output. Its council of ministers asserted that excessively high petroleum prices threaten the global...

Turmoil in the Middle East certainly plays a role in domestic oil prices, but this isn't the whole story. In fact, our drastic increase in gas costs is due to American political policies to unilaterally raise the price of energy, seemingly on purpose.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) world influence closely aligns with with the wax and wane of oil prices. This brief overview sheds light on OPEC's founding, it's embargo during the 1970's, role in the Gulf War, and the organization's modern status.

"So far this year America's dependence on Saudi Arabian oil has increased by 20 percent, according to a front-page article in the New York Times.... After nearly four years in office, that the United States is even more dependent on Middle East oil is shocking testimony to the failure of the Obama Administration's energy policies."

"As oil prices ticked above $115 per barrel last week, a White House leak revealed that President Barack Obama may dip into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the United States' 695 million barrel stockpile of emergency fuel supplies. The leak might have been a signal that Washington wants Gulf countries to take action to lower oil prices. It might also have been an attempt to wring the...

According to Anthony de Jasay, high oil prices are often blamed on profit-loving oil companies. In Europe, however, a large portion of the price at the pump goes to oil taxes. The author goes on to explain that the government wishes to retain these high taxes in order to keep European gasoline consumption low.

A sharp increase in oil prices suggests an imbalance in opinion from participants who believed prices would go one way or another. But if this were the case, wouldn't prices fluctuate up and down, not just up? Perhaps speculators are colluding to reap investments, but Taylor and Van Doren say this is unlikely.

One one side of the oil prices debate, speculators are considered evil and manipulative. But on the other side, speculators are dismissed as completely detached from the real policy issues. Which side is right?

According to Mark Perry, "By relying so heavily on imported oil, we are held hostage to events halfway around the world." Perry goes on to explain how events in the Middle East contribute to skyrocketing gasoline prices and suggests that America should try to replace its foreign oil dependence with more domestic drilling.

For decades, its main stomping grounds were in the developing world—exotic locales like the Persian Gulf and the desert sands of North Africa, the Niger Delta and the Caspian Sea. But in recent years, that geographical focus has undergone a radical change. Western energy giants are increasingly hunting for supplies in rich, developed countries—a...

"BP may be struggling to manage the Deepwater Horizon oil spill but its publication of key energy data goes on. The latest figures from BP's annual Statistical Review of World Energy show that world oil consumption fell by 1.2m barrels per day (bpd) in 2009, the second consecutive annual decline and the largest volume since 1982.

"While many of the factors that have caused the oil-price spike appear to be fleeting, there may be no respite from Chinese demand for the foreseeable future.

And just as oil is seen driving American foreign policy, so too are China's geopolitical strategies increasingly influenced by the country's inability to meet its energy needs solely through domestic production."

Since the 1970's, Americans have been wary of Middle-Eastern politics and the potential effects of unrest to disrupt oil supplies to the United States. Economists call this worry of immediate and catastrophic oil shortage an "oil shock". But is the U.S. really as vulnerable to disruptions in the world oil market as many think?

"Mr. Pickens is trying to sell Congress something called the Pickens Plan, a madcap, Rube Goldberg political contraption designed to appeal to the worst elements of American politics — corporate self-dealing, xenophobia, economic illiteracy — while directing billions of dollars of subsidies into businesses in which Mr. Pickens has a financial interest. The plan goes like this: T. Boone Pickens...

In the wake of the BP oil spill, a federal moratorium prohibits deepwater drilling in American waters in the Gulf of Mexico. Although Cuba currently produces very little oil, a Spanish company plans to begin drilling 50 miles from the Florida Keys, in Cuba waters. Many worry Cuba is ill-prepared for safe drilling and that an oil disaster could quickly affect the U.S. coasts.

Perry argues that the best way for America to unchain itself from OPEC and monitor greenhouse gas emissions is to develop more oil and gas drilling in the U.S. and utilize Canada's extensive oil sands. Despite rhetoric against American dependence on foreign oil, politicians have avoided drilling in the deep waters of the Atlantic Coast and the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

The International Energy Agency foresees that Chinese oil demand will spike 75% between 2008 and 2035. China will continue to develop alternative resources, but oil will remain the primary source of energy. Unprecedented demand for oil translates into rising prices per barrel.

This article and its corresponding charts declare that oil production typically peaks soon after oil discovery peaks. Declaring that oil discovery has already peaked around the world, this piece implies that oil production will shortly peak and decline rapidly thereafter.

"Big numbers make headlines – like our announcement of $10.7 billion in earnings for the first quarter of 2011. What may not make the headlines is the context surrounding that number, so I thought I would share with you what I told reporters following the announcement:

When crude oil prices increase it means higher earnings for oil companies, and more importantly for most Americans –...

"Although considerable attention has been given to the role of market speculation in recent price volatility, many energy experts say demand is rising and oil supplies are increasingly constrained, which puts upward pressure on oil and, consequently, gas prices. Political unrest in the Middle East, a recovering global economy, and revived demand in the emerging markets have all contributed to...

Back in 2005, the authors reflected on why gas prices had risen to two dollars a gallon. Part of the reason, they believe, is that, "Gasoline markets today are increasingly global rather than regional in nature. For example, European governments tax diesel fuels less than gasoline and European motorists have responded by using diesel. Accordingly, European refineries make more gasoline than...

In the wake of 9/11, many American politicians have called for a reduced reliance on Middle Eastern oil and more government subsidies for domestic alternative-fuels. However, authors Taylor and Van Doren claim that this was the same ineffective approach engineered by the Carter administration in the 1970's.

"House Republicans passed legislation Thursday that would require the U.S. government to offer up offshore areas for oil and gas leasing, part of a wide-ranging GOP effort to expand domestic energy production amid $4 per gallon gas.

The bill is the first in a three-part legislative push by House Republicans on drilling. Two related drilling bills are expected to come up for a vote on...

"The United States imported about 51% of the petroleum,1 which includes crude oil and refined petroleum products, that we consumed during 2009. Just over half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum is expected to decline in the next two decades."

"A cyber attack earlier this month highlighted the vulnerability of the Saudi oil industry, on which so much of the world depends. A recent simulation showed that a full-scale terror attack at Abqaiq, where Saudi Arabia processes six million barrels of oil a day, would hugely bolster Iran and bring economic ruin to parts of the world."

"Mr. Obama, speaking at Georgetown University, set out a multi-pronged approach to reaching that goal: finding and producing more oil in the United States, boosting fuel efficiency, and turning to cleaner alternative fuels. And while he is not as open to domestic oil drilling as some Republicans would like, he did try to reposition himself as a drilling-friendly president, even as he pushed...

"The debate over Hugo Chávez has been dominated by opposing caricatures -- a polarization that has thwarted a sound policy response. The Venezuelan president has an autocratic streak, no viable development model, and unsettling oil-funded aspirations to hemispheric leadership. But Washington and its allies should "confront" him indirectly: by proving they have better ideas."

"The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a continuing headache for the U.S. government, posing particularly tough decisions about the direction of U.S. energy policy. Jack Coleman, a former federal lawyer for energy policy issues who is now an industry lobbyist, criticizes the Obama administration's decision to place a moratorium on most new Gulf drilling."

"Keystone XL is an export pipeline. According to presentations to investors, Gulf Coast refiners plan to refine the cheap Canadian crude supplied by the pipeline into diesel and other products for export to Europe and Latin America. Proceeds from these exports are earned tax-free. Much of the fuel refined from the pipeline's heavy crude oil will never reach U.S. drivers' tanks."

"John has already noted what ought to have been above-the-fold news in every newspaper last week—the testimony of the GAO's head of natural resources that the U.S. has recoverable oil shale 'about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.' It wasn't front-page news, however, because it doesn't fit the liberal narrative and favorite talking point that the U.S. only has '2...

"The earth’s natural resources are finite, which means that if we use them continuously, we will eventually exhaust them. This basic observation is undeniable. But another way of looking at the issue is far more relevant to assessing people’s well-being. Our exhaustible and unreproducible natural resources, if measured in terms of their prospective contribution to human welfare, can actually...

"The anti-tax hardliners at the National Taxpayers Union are pumping $1.25 million into an ad campaign that blames President Obama for high gas prices. But the White House hasn't 'banned' fossil fuel production in the U.S. as the ad claims, and the $4 billion in taxpayer money we spend every year to subsidize oil companies isn't doing anything to hold gas prices down. According to NTU, Obama's...

"With rising gas prices continuing to shock consumers every time they fill up their fuel tanks, President Obama is repeatedly reminding Americans that his policies are part of the solution not, as his political opponents claim, part of the problem.

And so on Wednesday, just two weeks or so after he gave his last lengthy defense of his administration's energy policies, he delivered yet...

"Obama might have had at least a plausible case against the Keystone XL Pipeline if it had been the first one to cross from Canada into the United States. Whether you agreed with the president or not, he credibly could have argued that protecting America’s pristine habitat is so important that we should not lay a pipeline to carry 1.1 million barrels per day of friendly oil across America’s...

"Indeed, recent advances in the technologies used for oil and gas exploration are saving the U.S. economy hundreds of millions of dollars per day, creating lots of high-paying jobs, decreasing the need for foreign oil, and spurring manufacturing growth, which is leading to billions of dollars of new investment (and even more jobs). Yet, the Obama administration is using its fiscal year 2013...

"Like most presidents since the 1973 oil crisis, Mr. Obama may be stymied on the grand issues of energy security, let alone preventing further climate change caused by fossil fuels. Making peace with Republicans on energy policy may not be possible. But at the very least the president has made a savvy move to position himself as an energy activist. He’s also staked out a position that can...

"President Obama’s blame of speculators is a costly barrier to fixing bad government policy that restricts oil and gas exploration onshore and offshore here at home.

Oil futures markets can affect prices at the pump by changing the amount of gasoline delivered to gas stations. If producers anticipate higher prices in the future, they might take some oil off the market today and wait to...

"President Obama claims to see the need to create jobs at this time of endless 9-plus percent unemployment -- yet his administration continues to relentlessly destroy jobs for ideological reasons. The best example may be the Obama Environmental Protection Agency’s 'war on coal.'

"As political upheaval spreads across North Africa and into the Persian Gulf, 2011 may turn out to be as momentous a year for global oil markets as 1971, the year when the nature of the region's petro-states first took shape."

"The Brits have had a rather interesting response to the American Outrage over the GoM spill: With less than 5% of the world’s population, the US consumes 25% of the world’s oil production.

They believe we are being hypocritical in our outrage — if we were all that concerned, argues the Brits, we would not have been so profligate in our consumption, love affair with the SUV, and refusal...

Produced by the Council on Foreign Relations, this interactive timeline provides a historical overview of the growth and production of the oil industry. In particular, the timeline and its commentary charts the change from American dominance of oil to foreign dominance and American dependence.

"A recent report on the November 2009 U.S. trade deficit found that rising oil imports widened our deficit, increasing the gap between our imports and exports. This is but one example that our economic recovery and long-term growth is inexorably linked to our reliance on foreign oil. The United States is spending approximately $1 billion a day overseas on oil instead of investing the funds at...

The oil depletion allowance has been an integral part of the U.S. taxation system applied to oil since the end of World War I (1916–1918). First called the 'discovery depletion,' the allowance evolved to the 'percentage depletion' in 1926 when, regardless the amount invested, corporations deducted...

"When oil prices hit record levels, many people look for a scapegoat, and hugely profitable oil companies are an easy target. Even so, the typical political 'solutions' overlook the crucial role that market prices play in resource allocation, both among competing uses in different areas of the world today and among competing uses in different time periods (i.e. today versus the future)....

"There’s been a lot of press lately regarding rising oil prices’ potential impact on the US economy. And there’s certainly some impact—but while recently rising oil prices could be marginally negative for US consumers, the US economy is better prepared to deal with high energy prices than many believe."

"Proven oil reserves are likely to be far larger than reported because of the way the capacity of oilfields is estimated and how those estimates are added to form the proven reserves of a company or a country. Companies add the estimated capacity of oil fields in a simple arithmetic manner to get proven oil reserves. This gives a deliberately conservative total deemed suitable for shareholders...

"As oil prices continue to break records, people grow more restless and the politicians become more desperate to find a target for public outrage. Besides the easy scapegoat of 'Big Oil,' the politicians, pundits, and now even the CEOs of major airlines are blaming 'Big Speculators.' ...

In this article, I make three main points. First, the theory of speculators driving oil prices does...

Mabro discusses the historical, economic, political and policy facets of the "oil weapon" scare. Drawing upon the oil unrest of 1973, Mabro asserts, "The oil weapon is a blunt instrument. It is not possible to embargo a country or a set of countries without significant overall production cuts. The policy will then harm friends and foes alike. The reason is that the international trade in oil...

Oil, as a "fungible" commodity has had predictable changes in price when it comes to inflation, embargo, price controls, technology, and business cartels. Zycher's entry analyzes the role of OPEC in the world oil market since 1960.

Amid rising gasoline prices in the summer of 2011, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries decided to keep oil production levels at the same rate. According to this piece, "Gulf delegates have been pushing in recent days for an increase of one million to 1.5 million barrels a day. But some other OPEC members criticized the plan, arguing that the global oil supplies are sufficient and...

In the months following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, an investigative panel suggested that more government oversight and regulation of oil production in the United States was necessary. This article describes the various sides of this issue, noting that one individual in particular suggested "that the government should push for development of alternative energy sources instead of...

In this piece, Russ Roberts scoffs at those who believe oil will soon run out. According to Roberts, "'experts' have been warning us of the peril of running out of oil for decades." Roberts concludes by declaring "I prefer prices to 'real leadership.'"

This piece discusses the age old problem of price controls. As an example, Rockoff uses the gasoline price controls of the 1970s to demonstrate the economic loss this type of policy brings to individuals and society.

"Elites in oil rich countries are investing heavily in renewable energy forms in part because selling oil to addicts like Americans makes them a lot more money than selling that same oil to their own citizens.

Take Saudi Arabia, for example. The Saudi government recently announced a $100 billion investment in nuclear and renewable energy -- with the stated goal of increasing the amount...

"President Obama spoke from the White House's South Lawn this morning, urging Congress to end the $4 billion in tax subsidies oil and natural gas companies receive from the government every year. Obama noted that 'Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour' last year, and simply doesn't need taxpayer subsidies on top of companies' massive profits."

With current gas prices skyrocketing, some politicians have advocated tapping America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring consumer relief at the pump. The debate over accessing the SPR, the authors say, misses the point. Should the federal government even be in the commodities business? After all, the SPR was established after Saudi Arabia's oil embargo in 1973, not as a buffer against high...

"The discovery of the Spindletop oilfield had an almost incalculable effect on world history, as well as Texas history. Eager to find similar deposits, investors spent billions of dollars throughout the Lone Star state in search of oil and natural gas. The cheap fuel they found helped to revolutionize American transportation and industry."

"Guy Benson’s recent report about a lifelong New Jersey Democrat who already is so fed up with Obama-Pelosi-Reid shenanigans that she pulled the lever for Chris Christie is one pebble in the avalanche of opinion holding that Republicans are due for a big year in 2010. Maybe the Republican optimists are right: I’m no good at electoral prognosticating, so I’ll defer here to the psephological...

A recent study on behalf of the Senate's Joint Economic Committee has displayed a link between the Federal Reserve's efforts to boost the economy and a spike in gas prices. Since oil is traded by the dollar, oil prices rise when the dollar weakens, in order to compensate for the difference. Loose money, the study illustrates, hurts the consumer.

Due to misinterpretations in previous years, ExxonMobil blogger Ken Cohen decides to breakdown the expenses related to oil production in the United States. According to Cohen, the ExxonMobil company has actually paid more in taxes than it has received in "U.S. operating earnings."

"Many strange explanations have been floated to persuade us that the brutal rise in the price of crude is not due to excessive consumption nor sluggish production. An OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) minister said recently in all seriousness that because of under-investment in refining, refinery capacity was short, therefore gasoline and diesel prices went up, which pulled...

Combating the idea that the world will eventually run out of oil resources, Don Boudreaux declares the following:

"...the relevant constraint on our getting oil out of the ground is not any scarcity of the physical amount of oil that exists in the ground as much as it is the scarcity of our ingenuity and resources for use in that endeavor. As this ingenuity and these resources become...

This piece describes how nations which operate their oil production through the state rather than through private enterprise suffer and have many disastrous economic repercussions. Martinez relates this idea to Venezuela, noting that "the Venezuelan petro-state's extravagant squandering of resources, its massive subsidies which only reward inefficiency, the crude...

According to this piece, Saudi Arabia's former oil minister believes that oil will soon become a thing of the past. Interestingly, the oil minister reached this conclusion through the belief that alternative energy sources will take oil's place, rather than the belief that the world's oil reserves are running out.

According to Russ Roberts, the "fear that we’re running out of oil or some other key resource is a steady feature of the worrying class." Roberts then condemns the moaning and groaning of the pundits, opining that "the worriers are trying to exploit the recent spike in gasoline prices to push public policy in directions that won’t happen otherwise."

"Oil and gas companies are allowed to write off many of their capital costs immediately, and many can take deductions for so-called 'percentage depletion'--which has no connection with actual expenses. The purpose of these tax subsidies is to encourage domestic oil and gas production--and apparently consumption.

Having provided these subsidies, Congress then has recognized that it is...

"The Middle East, as virtually everyone knows, is the repository of half of the world’s proven oil reserves, the locus of vital shipping lanes and the heartland of Islamic fundamentalist terrorism. Events there directly affect the U.S. economy and its national security, which is why we almost universally view this region as one of paramount importance. That the U.S. military presence has...

"In 1973 the Arab oil-exporting countries stunned the world by announcing that they were cutting oil production and placing an oil embargo on the United States and the Netherlands. Now, 35 years later, fears about the security of oil supplies are provoking concern that Iran or a similarly hostile country might have recourse to some form of the oil weapon again. However, upon examination of the...

Although Americans spend a lot of time worrying about competing with Chinese production, Williamson stresses that we are also competing with the Chinese for consumption, namely consumption of oil. Devalued American dollars do not help our negotiations with OPEC.

"Two summers ago, natural gas cost $4.50 per thousand cubic feet, which was less than half what it had cost two summers earlier. Today the price is under $2.50, as unconventional natural gas production has increased to 20% of domestic supply from 5% in 2008, with 40% anticipated by 2020.

Meanwhile, North Dakota's Bakken/Three Rivers field produces 600,000 barrels a day of unconventional...

"Europe and the US seem to be addicted to oil and unable to pursue their security interests and moral values in regard to Saudi Arabia. US government reports indicate Saudi support for terrorism and the lack of counter-terrorism coopertation. The State Department determined the non-existence of religous freedom in Saudi Arabia and the non-compliance with the minimum standards for the...

"Don Hastings (R-WA) Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee has just introduced 3 bills to increase US off-shore energy production. The purpose of course is to put people back to work, lower gasoline prices for the consumer, cut costs to businesses and consumers to allow more dollars to be put back into our economy and to make the US less reliant on foreign energy including OPEC."

"Must it always be opposite day in Washington? Petroleum and gasoline prices are surging while the Obama Administration and its allies seem intent on making things worse. Instead of taking actions to increase supplies of petroleum and gasoline, the Administration pursues policies to restrict U.S. access to its own petroleum, ban imports of vast quantities of Canadian oil, and drive up costs of...

"The initial 1,700-mile pipeline [Calgary-based TransCanada], intended to carry a heavy crude known as tar sands from Alberta across seven U.S. states, has become a political issue. Citing rising gas prices and the need to create U.S. jobs, Republicans have criticized Obama for denying a permit last month and siding with environmentalists who say the crude's development would exacerbate...

Many politicians talk about "Energy independence", but in today's global economy, "independence" is not possible or even all that desirable. U.S. petroleum prices are inextricably linked to world markets. The U.S. government has long encouraged energy consumption while maintaining minimal energy production. J. Robinson West--chairman of the oil and gas consulting firm PFC Energy and former U....

"Every president since Richard Nixon has called for the U.S. to wean itself from needing oil from unstable or unsavory countries. The nation's new-found energy riches are likely to bring that ambition closer to reality in the next two decades, according to many forecasters.

It's no pipe dream. The U.S. is already the world's fastest-growing oil and natural gas producer. Counting the...

"While the U.S. is absorbed in fighting the war on terror, the seeds of what could be the next world war are quietly germinating. With 1.3 billion people and an economy growing at a phenomenal 8% to 10% a year, China, already a net oil importer, is growing increasingly dependent on imported oil. Last year, its auto sales grew 70% and its oil imports were up 30% from the previous year, making...

"The United States is increasing its dependence on oil from Saudi Arabia, raising its imports from the kingdom by more than 20 percent this year, even as fears of military conflict in the tinderbox Persian Gulf region grow.
The increase in Saudi oil exports to the United States began slowly last summer and has picked up pace this year. Until then, the United States had decreased its dependence...

"Venezuela's proven oil reserves are among the top ten in the world. Oil generates about 80 percent of the country’s total export revenue, contributes about half of the central government’s income, and is responsible for about one-third of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Increases in world oil prices in recent years have allowed Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to expand social...

This piece comments on the Standard Oil Trust case. According to Epstein, history shows that during Rockefeller's time in the oil industry, prices dropped dramatically, suggesting that Rockefeller's drive and ability to do exceptional business helped rather than hurt the American people.

"The world is heading for a catastrophic energy crunch that could cripple a global economic recovery because most of the major oil fields in the world have passed their peak production, a leading energy economist has warned.

Higher oil prices brought on by a rapid increase in demand and a stagnation, or even decline, in supply could blow any recovery off course, said Dr Fatih Birol, the...

"For most of last century the world's oil output was controlled by a few Western multinational corporations, despite the fact that much of the product came from the Middle East. In 1960, fed up by their limited voice in the international market, five major oil producing and exporting countries decided to organize to protect their interests and negotiate a better return on their resource.

"The recent press about the potential of shale gas would have you believe that America is now sitting on a 100-year supply of natural gas. It's a 'game-changer.' A 'golden age of gas' awaits, one in which the United States will be energy independent, even exporting gas to the rest of the world, upending our current energy-importing situation.

"As soon as the Soviets discovered the vast Caspian Sea oil fields in the late 1970's, they attempted to take control of Afghanistan to build a massive north-south pipeline system to allow the Soviets to send their oil directly through Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean seaport."

As presented above, this analysis estimates the total economic effects associated with stopping deepwater drilling. Using the BEA’s final-demand employment multipliers in Table A2 and the estimated production loss in Table 1 yields the expected losses in employment in Table 4.

These tables give a sense of the distribution of the jobs lost from the moratorium. A large portion of lost positions (approximately 38 percent) would be lost in high-skill fields, such as health care, real estate, professional services, manufacturing, administration, finance, education, the arts, information, and management.

Using the production estimates from Table 2 and the BEA multipliers in Table A2, the estimated decrease in economic output based on the estimated oil and natural gas production is presented in Table 3.

"The [...] chart shows the percentage changes in the past five years off the 2006 baseline. You can see gasoline at about 46% of distillates usage is the driver for the big drop in petroleum right now."

The economic contributions of the coal industry (NAICS 2121) on the West Virginia economy are significant. For 2008, the economic impact of the coal industry was $19.78 billion of business volume (Table 7).

It is reasonable to assume that a state’s production is tied to its available reserves, and by association the state’s proximity to oil. Thus, to apportion total production to the GOM states, I use each state’s share of the total oil and natural gas reserves in the GOM.

"Approvals [are] taking longer. Exploration and development plan approvals are down by more than 85 percent from previous levels; approvals of drill permits covered by those exploration and development plans show a decline from previous levels of nearly 65 percent (see Figure ES-2)."

"The next chart shows the annual oil/gold relationship for the years 1969 through 2011. I have marked the oil embargo years when an ounce of gold would buy much less oil as well as the years when oil prices were deregulated and oil got cheaper."

"Don Hastings (R-WA) Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee has just introduced 3 bills to increase US off-shore energy production. The purpose of course is to put people back to work, lower gasoline prices for the consumer, cut costs to businesses and consumers to allow more dollars to be put back into our economy and to make the US less reliant on foreign energy including OPEC.

Peak oil theory states: that any finite resource, (including oil), will have a beginning, middle, and an end of production, and at some point it will reach a level of maximum output as seen in the graph to the left.

The Interprovincial Pipeline (now called Enbridge) was built in 1950, to carry crude oil from Edmonton, Alberta, to Superior, Wis. Canadian natural gas first passed into America via a pipeline under the Detroit River in 1895. Today, scores of pipelines traverse the U.S.–Canadian border, as this map shows.

"However, mathematically it is more accurate to add the proven oil capacity of individual fields in a probabilistic manner based on the bell-shaped statistical curve used to estimate the proven, probable and possible reserves of each field."

A 42-U.S. gallon barrel of crude oil provides slightly more than 44 gallons of petroleum products. This gain from processing the crude oil is similar to what happens to popcorn, which gets bigger after it is popped."

In this survey, a group of Moms and Gen-Y members were asked the following question:
"Do you favor or oppose drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast and in the continental United States?"
A majority of both groups favored or strongly favored this proposition.

Petroleum prices catapulted in the 1970s and 1980s under the influence of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (opec). After that, as Figure 1 shows, real oil prices returned to their historical levels, until 2003, when oil prices increased significantly again."

"By analyzing the total economic harm associated with the moratorium, Dr. Mason finds that there would be broad economic losses within the Gulf region and throughout the nation as a whole. Dr. Mason concludes that President Obama’s moratorium will have grave economic consequences for the Gulf and the nation."

Looking specifically at oil, at least twelve major pipelines cross the Canadian frontier into the United States. As this map from the American Petroleum Institute indicates, oil and refined-product pipelines run throughout American soil in every direction.

A sustained slowdown in the Gulf of Mexico is already having a negative impact on job creation and domestic oil production, and will do so even more in 2012. The potential opportunities associated with a proactive approach by regulators to successfully restart the Gulf of Mexico 'engine' are significant.

In recent years, Venezuela has attempted to diversify its export destinations away from the United States. Besides the United States, other important destinations of Venezuelan petroleum exports include the Caribbean, Europe and Asia (see chart).

One potential outcome of the moratorium is that all production in the Gulf of Mexico stops because offshore drilling is deemed too dangerous. Although unlikely, repeating the analysis with this assumption can be a useful exercise by providing an idea of the total amount of output, employment, wages, and tax revenue at stake.

"Large-scale federal intervention into America’s energy markets began in the 1930s and continued through the 1970s. A series of major laws and executive actions sought to control energy prices, regulate electric and gas utilities, and limit imports. Competition was stifled and domestic investment was suppressed."

"On the contrary I show that a tax on crude would transfer wealth of $100+ billion a year from foreign governments to the US consumers, thus providing a major economic stimulus to the economy while at the same time reducing consumption of gas."

According to these authors, American dependency on foreign oil is destructive to our nation and is especially detrimental to our environment. They advocate for a reduction in foreign oil imports, arguing that this will save the country money by not providing tax breaks to Oil companies and will also encourage more alternative energy sources.

"Proponents of intervention contend that gasoline markets are not competitive (with some accusing producers of price collusion), that fat profit margins induce little more supply than might otherwise be induced by healthy but 'reasonable' profit margins, and that the gasoline profits are largely unanticipated and unearned."

"Many Americans have lost confidence in their country’s 'energy security' over the past several years. Because the United States is a net oil importer, and a substantial one at that, concerns about energy security naturally raise foreign policy questions."

"For fifty-five years, the United States and Saudi Arabia were solid partners. Then came the 9/11 attacks, which sorely tested that relationship. In Thicker than Oil, Rachel Bronson reveals why the partnership became so intimate and how the countries' shared interests sowed the seeds of today's most pressing problem--Islamic radicalism."

"Zone pricing in wholesale gasoline markets is a contentious topic in the public policy debate. Refiners contend that they use zone pricing to be competitive with local rivals. Critics claim that zone pricing benefits the oil industry and harms consumers."

"The rise of OPEC is tied to a shifting balance of power from the multinational oil companies to the oil producing countries. Lacking exploration skills, production technology, refining capacity, and distribution networks, oil producing countries were unable to challenge the dominance of the oil companies prior to World War II."

Contrary to popular opinion of John D. Rockefeller, this article declares that his chief goal was to provide oil for the poor at a decent price. Folsom goes on to describe Rockefeller's strong work ethic and philanthropic spirit, while also describing his sharp and successful career in the oil business.

"The United States has allowed multiple large, vertically integrated oil companies to merge over the last five years, placing control of the market in too few hands. The result: uncompetitive domestic gasoline markets."

"Since the United States both consumes and imports more oil than any other country, the Task Force has concentrated its deliberations on matters of petroleum. In so doing, it reaches a sobering but inescapable judgment: the lack of sustained attention to energy issues is undercutting U.S. foreign policy and national security."

"The U.S. sends approximately one billion dollars a day overseas to import oil. While this figure is staggering by itself, the dangerous implications of our addiction are even more pronounced when analyzing where our money goes – and whom it helps to support. …"

"Peak oil is the simplest label for the problem of energy resource depletion, or more specifically, the peak in global oil production. Oil is a finite, non-renewable resource, one that has powered phenomenal economic and population growth over the last century and a half."

"When gasoline prices climb at the pump, as they inevitably do from time to time, it sparks contention about the industry, pitting drivers against retail station owners, station owners against oil companies, and oil companies against policymakers."

"This report presents the findings of the first stage of a longer research program that IHS CERA and IHS Global Insight are conducting to evaluate the pace of plan and permit approval in the post-moratorium environment in the Gulf of Mexico."

America's dependence on foreign oil transfers U.S. dollars to a number of unfriendly regimes, while robbing the United States of the economic resources it desperately needs for domestic development and American innovation. American petrodollars fund regimes and economic investments that do not serve U.S. interests.

This report provides a variety of charts and statistics gleaned from a survey of Moms and individuals from Generation Y. The research gives a glimpse into some of the deepest concerns American citizens are facing in 2011, including the economy and national security.

"The transportation of petroleum represents one of the most strategically important circulations of resources in the global economy. Its role cannot be overstated. Yet, petroleum has become a 'strategically invisible' commodity as its flow has been continuous with limited, but eye-opening, disruptions such as the First Energy Crisis is 1973."

"Many politicians and pundits are panicked over the existing state of the oil and gasoline markets. Disregarding past experience, these parties advocate massive intervention in those markets, which would only serve to repeat and extend previous errors. These interventionists propose solutions to nonexistent problems."

"In this report, Dr. Joseph R. Mason investigates the resultant economic effects if either moratorium is allowed to stand. By analyzing the total economic harm associated with the moratorium, Dr. Mason finds that there would be broad economic losses within the Gulf region and throughout the nation as a whole."

Imagine a team of doctors hovering over the bed of the U.S. economy. With charts in hand and apparatus all around them, the medical team confers about a patient that has been in intensive care since June of 2009, which is when the recession ended. While the patient listens, the senior physician makes a quick rundown.

"Among the most fashionable preoccupations in foreign policy circles is 'energy security.' Although it is unclear what exactly energy security means, foreign policy elites have long been concerned about reliance on foreign energy."

"The American public has long equated the cost of energy with whatever is happening at that moment with gasoline prices. This misplaced emphasis on short-term price fluctuations has been further fueled by media coverage that is largely limited to reports of minor changes in motor fuel or crude oil prices."

"No one likes paying more for gasoline (except maybe folks who have always resented America’s relatively cheap gasoline, its SUVs, and other signs of bourgeois opulence), but government-imposed price restrictions would only make matters worse."

"The U.S. invasion of Iraq to loot its oil and politically restructure the Middle East, is part of a policy of militaristic imperialism that the American and British ruling circles have been engaged in for several centuries."

"There is increasing concern in the U.S. Congress about long-term federal transportation funding. This paper is designed to assist policymakers in assessing whether an oil tax would be a useful option for funding future expenditures on U.S. transportation infrastructure."

"The real problem we face over oil dates from after 1970: a strong but clumsy monopoly of mostly Middle Eastern exporters cooperating as opec. The biggest exporters have acted in concert to limit supply and thus raise oil’s price — possibly too high even for their own good. The output levels they establish by trial-and-error are very unstable."

"While the size and growth of the coal mining industry in West Virginia depends heavily on the strength of the national and global economies, both current and proposed public policies also have the potential to dramatically affect the future of the coal mining industry in the state...."

"An important policy consideration is the ability of cartels to control prices. Too often this issue is discussed without distinguishing between voluntary, or free market cartels and coercive, or state-supported cartels. This distinction is fundamental."

"Testifying to a Senate Committee, the Secretary of the Treasury claimed that the world has plenty of oil that we could tap into if necessary, but he was talking about foreign oil because he’s part of an administration that is shutting off our domestic spigots. And so we pay high gasoline prices, lose jobs, and suffer trade imbalances because we’re not allowed to drill here but must import...

"Don Boudreaux of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the recent surge in energy prices. They talk about why prices have risen, the implications for America's standard of living and the implications for public policy."

"Prof. Steve Horwitz addresses the common belief that the world is running out of natural resources. Instead, there are economic reasons why we will never run out of many resources. In a free market system, prices signal scarcity. So as a resource becomes more scarce, it becomes more expensive, which incentivizes people to use less of it and develop new alternatives, or to find new reserves of...

This hearing took place before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming and parses the economics behind U.S. dependence on foreign oil and rising gasoline prices. A transcript of the hearing is available here.

"There's been a lot of press lately regarding rising oil prices' potential impact on the US economy. And there's certainly some impact—but while recently rising oil prices could be marginally negative for US consumers, the US economy is better prepared to deal with high energy prices than many believe. Here are three charts to help put higher oil prices into perspective."

"The current spike in oil prices sparked by unrest in the Middle East is not the first one to hit the United States. Traditionally, higher prices have prompted calls for American energy independence through alternative energy. But skeptics say such calls amount to little more than talk in a nation heavily dependent on cheap foreign oil. VOA New York Correspondent Peter Fedynsky takes a closer...

"America's dependence on foreign oil is not a new issue. Every president since Richard Nixon in 1974 has urged the nation to find alternatives to imported oil. It's an issue that has led the U.S. and other countries into war. Susan McGinnis takes a look at the security issues surrounding America's dependence on foreign oil. She speaks with retired Army Gen. Paul Eaton who knows the history of...

"President Barack Obama is directing his administration to ramp up U.S. oil production by extending existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska's coast and holding more frequent lease sales in a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska."

"President Obama spoke from the White House's South Lawn this morning, urging Congress to end the $4 billion in tax subsidies oil and natural gas companies receive from the government every year. Obama noted that 'Exxon pocketed nearly $4.7 million every hour' last year, and simply doesn't need taxpayer subsidies on top of companies' massive profits.

"America’s experiment with laissez-faire capitalism in the 1800s was a disaster, historians tell us, because businessmen used anticompetitive tactics to form giant, invincible monopolies. The textbook example of these evils of Big Business is John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Trust. In an era before government regulations and antitrust laws, the story goes, Rockefeller wielded market power to...

"There are lot of different perspectives on how to solve America's oil dependency problem. Some would argue that government needs to make gas more expensive while subsidizing renewable energy. Others would argue that government needs to step out of the way and let American ingenuity take over. Learn more with this video and make up your own mind."

In the midst of the energy crisis of the 1970s, President Nixon framed his energy policy with the following words:

"Let this be our national goal: At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need to provide our jobs, to heat our homes, and to keep our transportation moving."

In his State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush lays out several policy initiatives to "to build a future of hope and opportunity." These include energy, healthcare, spending reform, education, immigration and national security.

"Address by the Secretary General to the OPEC 50th Anniversary Ceremony, delivered by HE Abdalla S. El-Badri, OPEC Secretary General, at the Ceremony organised by the Islamic Republic of Iran's Ministry of Petroleum in Tehran, Iran."

El-Badri celebrates what he believes to be OPEC's milestone. He associates OPEC's prominence in the world oil market with vigilant competition, noting that...

This speech finds Gerald Ford scolding Congress for holding up energy independence legislation. Among other things, Ford declares his commitment to domestic energy production and a reduced dependence on foreign oil. This piece also provides some interesting perspective on historical oil prices and imports.

"This report was produced to assist the EPA Office of Policy, Economics, and Innovation (OPEI) in assessing environmental impacts associated with oil and gas production in Region 8. The report discusses several state, regional, and national policy initiatives designed to effect environmentally responsible oil and gas production. In addition, the report’s findings are intended to inform current...

Approved by President Roosevelt in 1933, this code attempted "[t]o meet the emergency in the petroleum industry; to increase employment, establish fair and adequate wages, enlarge the purchasing power of persons related to this industry and improve standards of labor; to conserve the Nation’s petroleum resources and to prevent physical and economic wastes which demoralize the national market...

"Venezuela is one of the world’s largest exporters of crude oil and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The oil sector is of central importance to the Venezuelan economy. As a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Venezuela is an important player in the global oil market."

In this brief statement, Congressman Ted Poe condemns what he sees as Hugo Chavez's attempt to manipulate American foreign policy through the promise of oil. Poe goes on to declare that "American dependence on foreign oil poses a national security risk. It makes no sense at all. And why are we paying dictators and tyrants to supply us with energy? We have all of the energy we need right here...

In this testimony, Dan Sullivan acts as a spokesman for Alaska's governor. According to Sullivan, Alaska is eager and willing to increase its oil production in order to provide more jobs and decrease American dependence on foreign oil. Sullivan is careful to note that Alaska desires to preserve its natural beauty and resources, but he also believes that oil production and resource protection...

"I HAVE today issued a Proclamation adjusting and regulating imports of crude oil and its principal products into the United States.

The Voluntary Oil Import Program has demonstrated to me the willingness of the great majority of the industry to cooperate with the Government in restricting imports to a level that does not threaten to impair security. I commend them, and to me it is...

"I AM TODAY further modifying Proclamation 3279, March 10, 1959, which established a mandatory oil import control program within the Department of the Interior.

The purpose of this amendment is to permit, effective April 1, 1961, the orderly entrance of new importers, who do not currently qualify as importers, into the residual fuel oil markets of the East Coast. These new importers...

This hearing before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming focuses on the economics behind and possible public policy solutions to U.S. dependence on foreign oil and rising gasoline prices. Witnesses included representatives from the oil industry, business, farming, and the public sector. A video of the hearing can be found...

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, "The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) established a number of energy management goals for Federal facilities and fleets. It also amended portions of the National Energy Conservation Policy Act (NECPA)."

An act which, among other things: "Creates a Strategic Petroleum Reserve Office in the FEA. Requires creation of a Strategic Petroleum Reserve for storage of up to 1,000,000,000 barrels of petroleum products. Requires storage within three years of enactment of at least 150,000,000 barrels of petroleum products in such Reserve or in the Early Storage Reserve."

"Venezuela is the world's eighth- largest oil exporter and among the top 10 countries in total proven oil reserves. Venezuela also supplies about 11 percent of current U.S. imports of crude oil and petroleum products and wholly owns five refineries in the U.S. Consequently, Venezuela is a key player in the future energy security of the United States and the world.

A statement given by Erik Milito of the American Petroleum Institute addressing President Obama's March 30, 2011 speech on America's energy policy. Milito said, in part, "We hope the president will abandon energy politics in favor of energy policies that will provide Americans what they want and deserve: more energy, economic growth and more jobs. We have a million American jobs that we can...

"WHEREAS, in order to stabilize the economy, reduce inflation, and minimize unemployment, it is necessary to stabilize prices, rents, wages, and salaries; and

WHEREAS, the present balance of payments situation makes it especially urgent to stabilize prices, rents, wages, and salaries in order to improve our competitive position in world trade and to protect the purchasing power of the...

This public law is cited as "An Act To ensure that all oil and gas originated on the public lands and on the Outer Continental Shelf are properly accounted for under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior, and for other purposes."

"We've already made progress toward reducing that energy vulnerability. We've diversified our suppliers so that we are not unduly reliant on any single source. What's more, through the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, we've vastly improved our ability to respond flexibly to supply interruptions. And we have already begun moving on the path toward improved energy efficiency.

A nationally broadcast radio and television address where Gerald Ford upbraided Congress for its lack of action and explained his own reasoning as he introduced tariffs on foreign oil and deregulation of domestic drilling. "When I talk about energy, I am talking about jobs. Our American economy runs on energy--no energy, no jobs. In the long run, it is just that simple.[...] I cannot sit here...

"H.R. 1230 would require the Department of the Interior (DOI) to auction offshore oil and gas leases in the Central and Western Gulf of Mexico, as well as in an area off the coast of Virginia. Specifically, H.R. 1230 would require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct offshore oil and gas lease sales as follows:

A telegram from Herbert Hoover protesting the distribution of pamphlets to oil workers that alleged Hoover had personal connections to foreign oil. "I HAVE your telegram stating that Democratic agents despite all proof to the contrary are still circulating misleading statements through the oil fields that I have been opposed to relief to the oil industry because of my supposed interest in...

"The United States relied on net imports (imports minus exports) for about 45% of the petroleum (crude oil and petroleum products) that we consumed in 2011. Just over half of these imports came from the Western Hemisphere. Our dependence on foreign petroleum has declined since peaking in 2005."

"Our Nation's energy problem is very serious—and it's getting worse. We're wasting too much energy, we're buying far too much oil from foreign countries, and we are not producing enough oil, gas, or coal in the United States."

Carter went on to describe how he intended to help the U.S. reduce its dependence on foreign oil,...

A letter from John Kennedy to the director of his campaign leader in Texas, explaining his position on oil depletion allowances. "I have consistently, throughout this campaign, made clear my recognition of the value and importance of the oil-depletion allowance. I realize its purpose and value are to provide a rate of exploration, development, and production adequate to our national security...

"﻿BATON ROUGE (June 14, 2010) - The six-month drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico will cripple Louisiana's economy and leave thousands of families without income, particularly in coastal Louisiana, where one in three jobs is related to the oil and natural gas industry. In Louisiana, oil and gas production can be divided into three industries - oil and gas extraction, refineries and...

In the midst of the Great Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt encouraged limits on American petroleum production. This letter reports on several instances of the violation of these limits and suggests that more regulation needs to be in place in order to curb these tendencies.

In this testimony, Michael Greenstone discusses the cap on liabilities implemented by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. According to Greenstone, "The American people depend on the government to find an appropriate middle ground, and to determine the...

This document contains the original Mineral Leasing Act and its subsequent amendments up through 1990. According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the original Mineral Leasing Act "was designed to 'promote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas and sodium on the public domain'."

The President admits that soaring gas prices are debilitating in an already ailing economy. He calls for fraud-regulation--overseen by the U.S. Attorney General--and increased domestic production. He promotes an end to taxpayer subsidies to oil, and also emphasizes environmental protections.

According to the EPA, "The Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990 streamlined and strengthened EPA's ability to prevent and respond to catastrophic oil spills. A trust fund financed by a tax on oil is available to clean up spills when the responsible party is incapable or unwilling to do so. The OPA...

Described as "AN ACT To provide for the jurisdiction of the United States over the submerged lands of the outer Continental Shelf, and to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease such lands for certain purposes," this law lays out various rules for oil drilling off the coast of the United States.

"This article presents a summary of the legislative and regulatory regime that affects natural gas and oil exploration and production in offshore regions of the United States. It discusses the role and importance of these areas as well as the competing interests surrounding ownership, production, exploration and conservation."

In a speech at Georgetown University, President Obama outlined his energy policy for the nation. While past presidents have continually argued for the need to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil, President Obama urged reduction on all oil dependency. Furthermore, the President condemned the idea that increased domestic oil drilling will solve the energy problems the nation faces.

A second radio address where Richard Nixon encourages Americans to make personal energy sacrifices. "In order to minimize disruptions in our economy, I asked on November 7 that all Americans adopt certain energy conservation measures to help meet the challenge of reduced energy supplies. These steps include reductions in home heating, reductions in driving speeds, elimination of unnecessary...

A nationally broadcast radio address where Richard Nixon spoke about the growing energy crisis.

"As America has grown and prospered in recent years, our energy demands have begun to exceed available supplies. In recent months, we have taken many actions to increase supplies and to reduce consumption. But even with our best efforts, we knew that a period of temporary shortages was...

Remarks wherein Richard Nixon addressed the growing energy crisis, saying, "We have heard a lot about a crisis. I do not use that term, because we do not face a crisis in that sense of the word. I would simply say that in the short term we face a problem, a problem with regard to energy--heating, for example, this winter, just as we thought we faced a problem of gasoline this summer, and the...

"President Nixon talks about several issues, including the energy situation and the Watergate investigation that recently came to the attention of the American public. Nixon calmly rejects the notions that he will be impeached or resign. He attempts to keep the conference focused on rising oil prices and shortages and indications that the country might spiral into a recession."

In Executive Order 12287, President Reagan overturned price controls on domestic oil production. This statement describes President Reagan's reasons for this move, one of them being the fact that "[p]rice controls have ... made us more energy-dependent on the...

"Restoring America's energy security has been a top priority since I assumed office. We have changed regulations and laws, held discussions with our neighbors concerning a North American accord, and increased cooperation with our friends and allies to enhance our energy security. The United States has made dramatic gains in augmenting production and enhancing efficient consumption of energy....

For many years, John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company dominated much of the oil production in the United States. In the early twentieth century, Standard Oil was taken to court on the allegation that they had violated the Anti-Trust Act of 1890. This Supreme Court decision delineates the outcomes of this lawsuit.

This statement provides information on American oil imports and exports during the early years of the Great Depression. Interestingly enough, American oil exports during this time period actually exceeded imports.

This archive from the New York Times details the politics in the early 1900s involving the Standard Oil company. Apparently an attempt at an "October surprise," John D. Rockefeller announced his support for the Republican candidate, William Taft. Due to the anti-trust issues Teddy Roosevelt had hurled at Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company in the preceding years, Roosevelt's White House...

"Twenty one of the twenty-five states with the lowest electricity costs rely upon coal for forty percent or more of their electricity supply. It is no coincidence that these states also have the highest concentration of manufacturing. The deliberate and disruptive policies that have slowed and stopped coal mines from receiving permits to open or expand have consequences that reverberate...

"The Obama Administration and its allies have declared war on coal across all of Appalachia. We are ground zero for the fundamental overreach of the Obama regulatory agenda. They appear to be hell-bent on hurting those who work in the coal mining industry. The rural regions of Ohio, Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Illinois, Indiana, and Pennsylvania would be devastated from losing major...

Mr. West analyzes regional effects of oil policies in Latin America and West Africa:

"The hike in oil prices in the 1970s, along with greater control over the sector that countries gained (notably, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia nationalized the local producing assets), greatly boosted government revenues. This was particularly true of Mexico (which had nationalized its sector much...

In this testimony, James Martin declares that "America's rising ... oil import dependence imposes drastically on the domestic economy." Martin goes on to encourage more domestic oil production in order to ease the financial and security burdens foreign oil dependence places on the U.S.

This testimony discusses the effect EPA closures of coal mines would have on the West Virginia economy and infrastructure. Roberts notes the number of workers that would lose their jobs, while also pointing out the negative residual effects these job losses would have on local businesses and tax revenue.

"The 1928 Group Agreement (better known as the Red Line Agreement) was a deal struck between several American, British, and French oil companies concerning the oil resources within territories that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire within the Middle East. The origins of the Red Line Agreement can be traced back to the initial formation of the Turkish Petroleum Company (TPC) in 1912."

"This 1989 report contains the results of an investigation requested under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act to study the effect of oil imports on the domestic petroleum industry and on United States energy security. It reviews previous energy security assessments and resulting initiatives, assesses current U.S. energy security, and studies emergency petroleum requirements. The report...

"Since 1973, high and rising oil prices have seriously aggravated the management of macroeconomic policy. This report assesses the consequences of oil price rises for the general price level, employment, the trade balance, domestic and international credit markets, and the exchange rate in the United States and other major industrial countries."

This famous example of early twentieth century "muckraking" was produced by Ida Tarbell in 1904. According to Ms. Tarbell, the Standard Oil Company "was the first in the field, and it has furnished the methods, the charter, and the traditions for its followers." Part two of this volume can be found...

"Analysts and pundits often cite, correctly or incorrectly, the turmoil in the Middle East, a strengthening global economy, or speculation as the causes for the run up in crude oil prices. What is rarely discussed as an important factor in the rise of the dollar price of oil is the role played by the dollar itself. Oil is an international commodity that trades in dollars. The value of the unit...

"The windfall profit tax (WPT) was a special, temporary excise tax enacted in 1980 and repealed in 1988. It was an excise tax, not a profits tax, imposed on the difference between the market price of oil and a base price, which was adjusted for inflation and State severance taxes. Nearly all domestically produced oil was subject to the tax. The main purpose of the tax was to recoup for the...

In the 2007 State of the Union address, President George Bush asked Congress and America to "join him in pursuing the goal of reducing U.S. gasoline usage by 20 percent in the next ten years - twenty in ten."

According to Hamm, "U.S. independent exploration and production companies have been the leaders – not 'Big Oil,' the integrated refiners – in increasing U.S. production and finding significant new reserves of crude oil and natural gas in the past decade." Hamm opines that recent "tax preferences" aimed at encouraging "green" energy stand to increase U.S. dependency on foreign oil and punish...

"I am pleased to be here today to participate in your hearing on the challenges and opportunities related to the potential development of unconventional oil and natural gas resources. As you know, fossil fuels are important to both the global and U.S. economies, and among other things, we rely on oil to fuel our transportation vehicles and on natural gas to a significant extent to heat and...

"As even George W. Bush acknowledged in his 2006 State of the Union, America is dangerously 'addicted to oil'. In Addicted to Oil, Ian Rutledge explores the political, economic and social ramifications of the motorization of the US economy and examines the ways in which America's dependence on the car has created oil needs which have heavily influenced US foreign policy. Rutledge argues that...

"In his pathbreaking Resource Wars, world security expert Michael Klare alerted us to the role of resources in conflicts in the post-cold-war world. Now, in Blood and Oil, he concentrates on a single precious commodity, petroleum, while issuing a warning to the United States - its most powerful, and most dependent, global consumer. Since September 11 and the commencement of the 'war on terror...

This anthology offers a very straightforward overview of the foreign oil conundrum, chronicling opposing perspectives on the oil supply and the possibility of energy independence. Articles, written by prominent policy makers, include discussions of the role of oil in the invasion of Iraq, national security threats, fuel economy standards, ethanol, and the the ethics of drilling in the Arctic...

"The politics of oil revolves around its price and the reliability of its suppliers. In turn, many international conflicts in the world today are rooted in these politics. Not surprisingly: the price of oil is managed by a cartel-OPEC-some of whose member governments are deeply hostile to the United States and other major importers of oil. And OPEC controls nearly two-thirds of the world's oil...

"Ninety percent of the world's oil reserves are entrusted to state-owned companies. Originally created as political instruments, these so-called national oil companies (NOCs) face new demands amid today's dwindling oil reserves and simmering social pressures. Increasingly, state-owned oil firms—particularly in the Middle East—must balance the political demands of their governments with the...

"M. A. Adelman is one of the preeminent authorities on the economics of mineral resources. This book brings together his work, written over the past thirty years, on mineral depletion and the nature of monopoly in world oil. Organized into three groups, the twenty-seven papers cover theory and measurement of mineral scarcity and depletion, analysis of the OPEC...

"Pictures of oil as the glittering prize, the source of global power and empires, or the hub of an energy crisis have gushed through the media since 1973. What actually happened was very different. M. A. Adelman had written in 1970 that "the genie is out of the bottle," that a group of oil producing countries would control the oil trade to raise prices. Now, twenty-five years later, he has...

"In a year that saw both the formal end to the Vietnam War and the unfolding of the Watergate scandal, the oil crisis of 1973-1974 dealt a critical blow to the American psyche. After decades of wealth and prosperity, stagflation and gas shortages hit Americans in their own pockets. They faced hard questions about a national culture of consumption that had ravaged...

"The Paradox of Plenty explains why, in the midst of two massive oil booms in the 1970s, oil-exporting governments as different as Venezuela, Iran, Nigeria, Algeria, and Indonesia chose common development paths and suffered similarly disappointing outcomes. Meticulously documented and theoretically innovative, this book illuminates the manifold factors--economic, political, and social--that...

"The world is about to run out of cheap oil and change dramatically. Within the next few years, global production will peak. Thereafter, even if industrial societies begin to switch to alternative energy sources, they will have less net energy each year to do all the work essential to the survival of complex societies. We are entering a new era, as different from the industrial era as the...

"Arguing that the ultimate resource is the human imagination coupled to the human spirit, Julian Simon led a vigorous challenge to conventional beliefs about scarcity of energy and natural resources, pollution of the environment, the effects of immigration, and the 'perils of overpopulation.' The comprehensive data, careful quantitative research, and economic logic contained in the first...

"For fifty-five years, the United States and Saudi Arabia were solid partners. Then came the 9/11 attacks, which sorely tested that relationship. In Thicker than Oil, Rachel Bronson reveals why the partnership became so intimate and how the countries' shared interests sowed the seeds of today's most pressing problem--Islamic radicalism.

"Saudi Arabia is the most important oil producing nation in history. The secretive Saudi government repeatedly assures the world that its oil fields are healthy beyond reproach, and that they can maintain and even increase output at will to meet skyrocketing global demand.

But what if they can't?

Twilight in the Desert looks behind the curtain to reveal a Saudi oil and production...

"The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the only national trade association that represents all aspects of America’s oil and natural gas industry. Our more than 400 corporate members, from the largest major oil company to the smallest of independents, come from all segments of the industry. They are producers, refiners, suppliers, pipeline operators and marine transporters, as well as...

"The Energy Policy Research Foundation, Inc. (EPRINC), formerly PIRINC was incorporated in 1944 and is a not-for-profit organization that studies energy economics with special emphasis on oil. It is known internationally for providing objective analysis of energy issues."

"Americans are increasingly concerned about energy. Demand is increasing faster than supplies while much of the world’s oil is delivered in a restrictive market dominated by unstable or hostile nations. Meanwhile, many Americans harbor misunderstandings and myths about energy, the environment, and market forces. They want low prices and plentiful supply, but resist steps that must be taken to...

"The annual World Energy Outlook (WEO) is now the world's most authoritative source of energy market analysis and projections, providing critical analytical insights into trends in energy demand and supply and what they mean for energy security, environmental protection and economic development.

The WEO projections are used by the public and private sector as a framework on which they...

"The Institute for Energy Research (IER) is a not-for-profit organization that conducts intensive research and analysis on the functions, operations, and government regulation of global energy markets. IER maintains that freely-functioning energy markets provide the most efficient and effective solutions to today’s global energy and environmental challenges and, as such, are critical to the...

"The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by nine other Members: Qatar (1961); Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership from January 2009; Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab...

The Council on Foreign Relations offers an interactive timeline of the history of American oil dependency. It begins with the rise of oil as a fuel commodity in the 1880's, progresses through the boom of oil competition and foreign policy with the Middle East in the 1960's and 70's, and ends with the U.S. strategy of deregulation and diversification.